Comments on: Brian Sabean says bare-knuckled Nate Schierholtz is on the team, outlook hazier for Fred Lewishttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2010/03/28/brian-sabean-says-bare-knuckled-nate-schierholtz-is-on-the-team-outlook-hazier-for-fred-lewis/
An inside look at the San Francisco GiantsTue, 24 Apr 2018 15:21:00 +0000hourly1By: izmir cicekhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2010/03/28/brian-sabean-says-bare-knuckled-nate-schierholtz-is-on-the-team-outlook-hazier-for-fred-lewis/#comment-29916
Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:50:38 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=2773#comment-29916Giants prospect Angel Villalona, who is charged with murder in the September shooting death of a bar patron in the Dominican Republic, will appear in court for a preliminary hearing
]]>By: Regulushttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2010/03/28/brian-sabean-says-bare-knuckled-nate-schierholtz-is-on-the-team-outlook-hazier-for-fred-lewis/#comment-28491
Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:26:00 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=2773#comment-28491Fredddddddddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Lew Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…..we luv uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
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Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:11:35 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=2773#comment-28453Great discussion! I don’t think there’s that much of a disparity between Lewis and Velez and I like them both on a sentimental level. Lewis does have a distinct edge in on base percentage, but if you’ll recall, he started the year out great in that department, leading the league around the end of April, and then gradually tapered off as his overall hitting, especially in RBI situations, seamed to slide into a malaise.

Velez is very streaky, but at least he can boast that during one 2-3 week hot stretch he practically carried the team. Velez is a much better base stealer and he’s younger, seams to have upside moving forward. I say edge to Velez.

I think that your preference for something that you “just feel” about player over the record of what he has done on the field to be unfortunate.

But of course it’s your choice and I don’t expect I’ll change your thoughts on the matter.

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Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:15:21 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=2773#comment-28239dregarx – good summation of your analysis of Lewis vs Velez! However we will have to just agree to disagree on this subject. I rely a lot more on my instincts of watching baseball for over 50 years… and I just don’t feel Lewis will ever be a good ballplayer at the ML level. I am sure the Giants feel the same way, as do ALL the other teams in MLB…. otherwise they would have moved him already!
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Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:00:25 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=2773#comment-28204Mavo, I respect your knowledge as a baseball observer but I have to disagree with you here.

“He ONLY gets on base more because he lacks aggressiveness at the plate and walks more than Velez”

Yes, he walks more. This is good thing. “Lacks aggressiveness”? This is an arbitrary opinion judgment. Please give it a definition of “aggressiveness” and show how it is a positive quality. I can tell you that Lewis swung at a higher proportion of pitches in the strike zone than the average player; sounds like reasonably aggressive plate approach to me.

“he also strikes out a LOT more in RBI situations.”

You would say hitting with runners on base counts as an RBI situation, right? Then indeed, Lewis strikes out more in such situations, with 86 Ks in 395 plate appearances. Velez had 36 Ks in 257 plate appearances. But is this necessarily a good thing. Velez, in these situations, hacks at any pitch that the pitcher throws, even if it is a ball. He rarely gets to 2-strike counts, so of course he has fewer Ks. But with his undisciplined approach, he hurts his overall production. Here are the batting lines for both players with runners on base.

Lewis: .267/.355/.407
Velez: .258/.307/.391

As you can see, Lewis is better in every single category and MUCH better in the one that matters most: not making an out.

“And even though Velez is hardly a polished outfielder…. he is better than Lewis and CAN also play 2nd base.”

As we both know, defensive analysis is hardly perfect. PitchFX will help solve some of those problems in the future. But we can make do with what we have, and the easily available stat we have for defense is UZR.

Lewis has a career UZR of 4.8 in the outfield, saving about 5 runs per season compared to the average AAA call-up on defense. Velez has a career UZR of 9.1, so you are correct that he is better defensively in the outfield. However, it is not nearly enough to make up for Lewis’s sizable advantage on offense.

As for the idea of Velez playing 2nd base… the answer is he can, just like I can and you can, but not very well at all. He has a career UZR of -22.1 at the keystone. Mark DeRosa and Juan Uribe can do much better than that, and they are better hitters, too.

Velez simply isn’t an asset in the infield. The Giants really should start him as an outfielder in AAA until he is a polished defender. Maybe next year he can be a productive 5th outfielder as a defensive specialist with UZR numbers above 20, but until then, he is just not pulling his weight with the bat.

“Sorry, but it is time to jettison Lewis”

It’s the 5th outfielder spot. Velez isn’t a better option. There’s nothing wrong with keeping him on the roster for the next few months as a pinch hitter and backup to Bowker, and Schierholtz.

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Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:17:59 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=2773#comment-28196dregarx – while I respect your opinion… I disagree totally with your OBP “blindness” when it comes to Fred Lewis! He ONLY gets on base more because he lacks aggressiveness at the plate and walks more than Velez… but he also strikes out a LOT more in RBI situations. And even though Velez is hardly a polished outfielder…. he is better than Lewis and CAN also play 2nd base. Plus he is older than Velez.

Sorry, but it is time to jettison Lewis like a long line of similar Sabean outfielders over the past 10 years (Linden, Torcato, etc. etc.)

You lookin’ for info on the stat of OBS? Check out Mike Fox’s work on McCovey Chronicles. It’ll be a fun experience.

All you “trade-Fred” people; if you want to get rid of Lewis to keep Velez on the roster, you have a fundamental lack of knowledge of the offensive skills that lead to run scoring.

Lewis has been a better hitter than Velez at every stage of the game! DeRosa and Uribe can play 2B much better than Velez, so Velez isn’t a better option than Lewis because of his versatility. Besides, he’s worse in the infield on defense than in the outfield, and he’s Lewis-esque in he outfield. Velez even has an option left, so the Giants can put him in AAA and not lose him, which they can’t do with Lewis.

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Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:43:00 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=2773#comment-28189Huff isn’t going to be on the bench. He’s a superior hitter to Ishikawa. Travis will be on the bench as a late-inning defensive replacement.
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Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:30:58 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=2773#comment-28186An outfield of Bowker, Rowand & Schierholtz would be at least as good last year’s Lewis, Rowand & Winn. An infield of Ishikawa, DeRosa, Uribe and Sandoval would be at least as good as last year’s Who’s on First, What’s the Name of the Guy on Second, Renteria & Sandoval. Posey at catcher would be at least as good as last year’s Molina. A bench of Molina, Huff, Renteria, Torres and Sanchez (and, oh, I guess Velezuntil he gets back) would be at least as good as last year’s I Don’t Know the Name of the Guy. And the G’s would find out for once and for all if Bowker, Schierholtz and Ishikawa can play in the bigs.
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